Reading a Japanese Rental Contract

Which documents you are actually signing

Two documents usually arrive together. The 重要事項説明書 (jūyō jikō setsumeisho) is an explanation of important matters, read to you by a licensed agent before signing, and the 賃貸借契約書 (chintaishaku keiyakusho) is the lease itself. A third bundle, the 使用細則 (shiyō saisoku) or house rules, is often attached and is where pets, instruments and rubbish days actually live. All three are part of what you agree to, and you can ask for all three in advance.

This guide is about the paperwork rather than the search. Choosing a district, reading a floor plan and asking questions at a viewing are a separate stage, covered in the apartment-hunting guide; here you are sitting down with a document and a pen. The single most useful habit is to read it somewhere other than the agent's desk, where a dictionary and an unhurried hour are available to you.

• Ask for a draft of the contract and the house rules before the signing appointment
• Read the clause headings first and mark the ten that involve money or the exit
• Look specifically for a section headed 特約 (tokuyaku), the special conditions
• Keep the floor plan and any move-in checklist with your copy of the contract
• Nothing here is legal advice; for anything that worries you, ask the agent or a qualified professional

Clause reference table

Wording differs between landlords, management companies and regions, and standard forms are revised over time. Treat this table as a map of what the words mean, not as a statement of what your contract says or of what any charge should be. The clause in front of you is the one that governs, and the agent is there to explain it.

The parties and the property description

The first page names the landlord, the tenant, the managing company and any guarantor, and then identifies the property precisely: address, building name, unit number, layout, area and construction. Read your own name and the unit number character by character, because a typo here follows you through every later document. The 使用目的 line matters too: a residential lease commonly permits residential use only, which is what makes running a business from the flat a contractual question rather than a private one.

Rent, management fee and when they are due

Rent and the management fee are usually listed as separate lines and paid together. The distinction matters later, because renewal fees and other charges are sometimes calculated on rent alone. Next to them sit the payment date and the payment method: many contracts use a direct debit from a designated account, which takes time to set up, so ask how the first month or two are handled before the debit begins.

Two smaller lines are worth finding now rather than later. Pro-rated rent covers a move-in partway through a month, and the late-payment clause says what happens if a transfer misses the date. Neither is dramatic, but both are much easier to read calmly today than on the day they apply.

What you pay at the start

The money paid once at signing usually appears in a table of its own. A deposit is held against unpaid rent and restoration and is settled when you leave; key money is a payment to the landlord that is generally not returned; the brokerage fee goes to the agency; a lock change and a guarantee fee may appear as separate lines. Which of these your contract includes, and on what terms, varies by property and region, so ask for a written breakdown rather than a single total.

The guarantee arrangement deserves its own question. Many contracts require either a personal guarantor or a guarantee company, and sometimes both, and a guarantee fee may recur rather than being a one-off. Ask whether it repeats, and when, so that the number does not reappear in a year as a surprise.

Term, renewal and the fixed-term difference

The term clause gives a start date and an end date, and the type of lease decides what happens at that end date. An ordinary lease, 普通借家契約, is normally renewed, and the contract will say whether a renewal fee and an administrative fee apply. A fixed-term lease, 定期借家契約, is written to end when it ends; continuing usually means agreeing a new contract, which is not something you can assume in advance.

This is the single question most worth asking out loud at the desk, because the two look similar on paper and lead to different lives. If your plan is to stay several years, ask which type you are signing, when the renewal process starts, and what the contract says about rent at renewal.

Ending the contract: notice and early cancellation

The cancellation clause is the one you will use, so read it on the day you sign rather than the week you decide to move. It sets how far ahead notice must be given, and it usually requires that notice in writing on a specific form rather than by a message to the agent. Some contracts add a clause about leaving unusually early. Where a penalty exists it is written down, so ask the agent to point at the sentence rather than describing it from memory.

Restoration: the clause that decides your deposit

原状回復 sets what condition you must return the property in, and it is where deposit disputes come from. Contracts commonly separate ordinary wear and ageing from damage, but the line between them is drawn in the wording, and any 特約 special condition attached to it can change the picture, so read those sentences slowly and ask what falls on the tenant.

Whatever the clause says, the practical protection is evidence. On the day you get the keys, photograph every room, every mark on a wall, the corners of the flooring and the state of the water heater, with the date visible. Keep the move-in checklist if one is provided and hand a copy back. A move-out inspection is usually done together with the manager, and a folder of dated photographs makes that conversation short and factual.

The house rules: pets, instruments, smoking and subletting

The prohibitions are rarely in the main contract in full; they sit in the 使用細則 annexe, which is why it is worth asking for it before signing rather than finding it in the welcome folder. Typical topics are pets, musical instruments, smoking indoors or on the balcony, altering fixtures, storing items in shared corridors, rubbish sorting and collection days, and how many people may live there. Rules vary widely between buildings, and a rule that seems minor is still a rule you agreed to.

Two of these catch newcomers most often. Subletting, 転貸, generally covers letting anyone else use the flat, including short-stay arrangements, and is commonly prohibited. And the number of residents is usually fixed by the contract, so a partner moving in later is a conversation with the management company rather than a private decision.

Fire insurance and other required add-ons

Leases commonly require the tenant to hold fire insurance, usually bundled with cover for damage to your own belongings and liability toward the landlord and neighbours, for the length of the term. The agent will normally offer a policy at signing, and whether you may bring your own depends on the wording, so ask plainly. Other add-ons sometimes appear alongside it, such as a support service or an equipment package; each of those is a line you can ask about, and asking what happens if you decline is a fair question, not a rude one.

Slowing the appointment down

The explanation of important matters is often read aloud at speed, and nodding along is the easiest mistake in the room. You are allowed to ask for a slower pace, for a reading of a kanji you do not know, and for time to take the document away. Asking to sign tomorrow instead of today is a normal request; an agent who explains willingly is doing their job, and one who resists is telling you something useful.

A short confirmation after each block keeps you in the conversation: つまり、解約は二か月前ということですね。 Repeating the clause back in your own words gives the agent a chance to correct you, which is exactly what you want to happen before you sign rather than a year later.

A checklist before you sign

• Confirm which type of lease it is and what happens at the end of the term
• Read the notice period and diarise it the day you move in
• Read the restoration clause and every special condition attached to it
• Get a written breakdown of the initial costs and ask which items recur
• Ask whether the guarantee fee repeats, and when
• Collect the house rules annexe and check pets, instruments, smoking and residents
• Check the insurance requirement and whether you may choose the provider
• Photograph the whole flat on key handover day with the date visible
• Keep the contract, the house rules and the photographs together in one place
• For anything you are unsure of, ask the agent or a qualified professional rather than guessing